Page 60 of Pretty Broken Wings

“C’mon.” Axel starts walking to the stairs. “I have breakfast.”

I blink. I slept all night? He’s going to let me leave the room?

We’ve reached a new checkpoint in the game.

I weigh my options. If he’s asking me to do it, I probably don’t want to. But I won’t accomplish much staying here either.

When I stand up, a wave of blackness rolls over me, and I have to catch myself on the doorframe. It causes pain to fill my wrist, but I latch onto it to keep me awake.

When I recover, Axel’s moved up a step, looking like he’s going to try and help me.

Fuck no.

I straighten. Axel nods, then leads the way down the stairs.

I follow, taking in the house now that I’m not over Axel’s shoulder. It seems older, with little dents in the paint, and the handrail is scratched. The stairs open up to the kitchen on the left and the living room straight ahead.

I look around. The furniture is nice, not unlike Gage’s house. There’s a front door in the living room and a back door attached to the kitchen. I wonder if they’re locked?

Axel is waiting by the kitchen, where there’s a small table. He has a chair pulled out. “Where would you go?”

I snap my gaze to his. He looks at the front door and then back to me.

Did he clock me looking at the exits? Okay, so he’s prepared for me to run. Clearly, I’m playing right into his hands.

“Sit. I made breakfast.”

I’m starving. I’m used to the feeling, so I know that it’s only downhill from here. I need to eat so I have more energy to get away.

So, I sit.

Axel says thank you so softly, I wonder if I heard him right. He acts like nothing’s happened, dishing me out bacon, eggs, and fresh fruit. My mouth waters, but I wait until he’s served himself and starts eating before I start, too.

“Breakfast food.” He nods. “Noted.”

The food is good. I mean, salty, buttery, sweet goodness. The flavors explode, and I hold myself back from groaning, stuffing my face as fast as I can. I don’t have anything against certain kinds of food for breakfast, not that he needs to know that. I’m just grateful for any food at this point.

Once I finish my plate, I want to load myself another, but I force myself to wait. I know if I eat too much now, I’ll end up puking it up in the next few minutes. So, I grab a strawberry, forcing myself to nibble on it slowly.

I realize that Axel’s watching me.

I glare back at him. His glasses are slightly more boxy than I remember them being. These are different glasses. They look like the old pair Gage has.

Axel says nothing, so I don’t either. I take my time to take in the house, noting all the areas of escape and all the pieces of furniture I could potentially push into his path. I need to figure out how well he can see.

I reach out to grab the glass of water, downing it too fast, but I can’t help myself. It tastes too damn good. As soon as I put it down, I slide my hand along the table, grabbing the butter knife and slipping it down to my lap.

“More water?”

I nod.

Axel gets it for me, and I take the opportunity to slip the knife into my waistband.

“I feel like I should tell you that stabbing me will only turn me on.” Axel turns back to me. “But you should know that already.”

I lift my chin, crossing my arms.

Axel just smiles, flashing his white teeth, then shakes his head, dropping back into his chair. Then he goes back to watching me.